Wamenkes: There Are 14 Hepatitis Cases In Indonesia, 4 People Died

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health reported that there were 14 cases of acute hepatitis found in Indonesia until May 20, 2022.

This was stated by Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono in a working meeting with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR), Monday, May 23.

"So far, 14 cases have been found in Indonesia", said Dante.

Dante said that from the 14 cases, four of them died. While 10 others are still undergoing treatment.

"But we will tell you that there are four people who died, the rest are still being treated", he said.

Dante said the first three cases in Indonesia were found on April 27, 2022. All three were children under 16 years of age.

Dante admitted that he regretted the three cases because Indonesia had no experience in this case. So initially, three cases died.

"Because the journey is so fast, the yellow color, liver failure, and our ability to perform a liver transplant are still limited so the child died", said Dante.

Dante said the cause of acute hepatitis is not yet known as explained by WHO as of 23 April. However, he said, the characteristics found in sufferers are yellow skin.

It is known, that in Indonesia, fever is the most prominent symptom of acute hepatitis.

"In Indonesia, there is 78 percent of the prominent symptoms of fever", said Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Mochammad Syahril in a virtual press conference, Wednesday, May 18.

Followed by a decrease in appetite (78 percent), vomiting (71 percent), changes in urine color to become concentrated (50 percent), stomach pain (50 percent), acute diarrhea (42.9 percent), fatigue or malaise (35.7 percent). ), myalgia or muscle pain (28.6 percent), shortness of breath (28.6 percent), pale stool color (21.4 percent), and itching (7.1 percent).